Hull City, Cardiff City postponement could be blessing after Ruben Selles’ Stoke City admission | OneFootball

Hull now have ample time to address their key issues as the Bluebirds are in FA Cup action this weekend

Hull City's recent home encounter against Stoke City can only be described as a missed opportunity for those in Black and Amber.

Despite possessing the worst home record in the Championship by some distance, there was a mass belief that the Tigers would be able to build on the waves of positivity which surrounded the club as a result of their eventual eight-man transfer haul under Ruben Selles, but that was far from the case, as the same old issues were laid bare against Mark Robins' side.

Ruben Selles' post-Stoke City admission highlights Hull City repetition

As has been the case in several of Hull's outings on home turf, the post-game statistics will only add to the frustration of supporters and the squad, as they failed to make a number of 22 attempts and four big chances count, despite taking the lead on six minutes through Eliot Matazo.

However, whilst missing several big chances is one thing, Selles once again had to face up to questions regarding his side's defensive frailties, as Ali Al-Hamadi's first goal for Stoke on the stroke of half-time and Andrew Moran's eventual winner 15 minutes from time came from the all too familiar scenario which is a lapse in concentration following a set piece, as well as several men in Black and Amber failing to deal with a deep cross.

"Absolutely (the goals were avoidable)," Selles stated.

"It can look like they have switched off. I don't think they have switched off, I think we need to adjust situations from the first and second goal, because we didn't make those mistakes for the rest of the game."

"Those are the situations we need to continue working on and are the situations that are stopping us from winning football matches," he concluded.

It was made no secret across the now shut transfer window that Hull needed to add further experience to their squad across all positions, particularly in defence.

Their final signing of the window saw Burnley's John Egan make a £250,000 switch across the Pennines from Turf Moor, and he is someone who definitely fits the bill on that front, having made 210 second tier appearances across a successful career thus far.

An 18-month deal also highlights how Selles and the club do not view this signing as a 'stop-gap' solution, which could have been the case had Hull recruited a left-back, with the likes of Charlie Taylor and Murray Wallace among others, linked with the East Yorkshire side.

City's defence has been a hot topic of discussion throughout the season though, especially as plenty of stalwarts from the 2020/21 League One title-winning campaign remain at it's core for the time being at least.

However, with Egan now among those and Charlie Hughes edging ever-closer to a return from injury, the Tigers have been handed ample time to address the situations which Selles went in-depth on after Saturday's defeat, with their next encounter coming against promotion-chasing Burnley on February 12th, as a result of Cardiff City's advancements in the FA Cup.

Whilst Hull's performance levels at the MKM and away from home have been chalk and cheese of late with three wins and clean sheets on the spin on the road, the fact Omer Riza's side will be facing Hull's most recent opponents in the cup could also be a blessing in disguise.

The Bluebirds were on the end of their heaviest league defeat since 1966 on Saturday, as they were well and truly put to the sword by a rampant Leeds United at Elland Road, losing 7-0.

And, whilst the South Wales side and Hull have been almost inseparable in the Championship table this term, Riza's men were previously in the midst of a nine-game unbeaten run, which included a respectable return of eight points from a possible 12 at the Cardiff City Stadium.

However, it must be said that Hull have had the Indian sign over Cardiff since regaining their Championship status in 2021, and the chance to put things right immediately against the same opponents would have been a welcome predicament, regardless of how much this particular narrative would have been spun by the Tigers' management team.

However, with this relegation six-pointer now pencilled in for Wednesday, February 26th, Hull don't run the risk of being on the end of a strong reaction from Cardiff, as well as being able to integrate their new recruits into Selles' system, with Egan's introduction at the heart of defence no doubt a key focus.